The fifth Sarawak state election was held between Wednesday, 15 April and Thursday, 16 April 1987 with a nomination date set on Monday, 6 April 1987. This was a snap election following the
'Ming Court' affair. The
state assembly
State Assembly is the name given to various legislatures, especially lower houses or full legislatures in states in federal systems of government.
Channel Islands
States Assembly is the name of the legislature of the Bailiwick of Jersey. The Baili ...
was dissolved on 12 March 1987 by
Sarawak governor with the advice of chief minister of Sarawak,
Abdul Taib Mahmud
Abdul Taib bin Mahmud (; 21 May 1936 – 21 February 2024) was a Malaysian politician who served as the seventh Yang di-Pertua Negeri of Sarawak from 2014 to 2024 and the fourth Chief Minister of Sarawak from 1981 to 2014. He is referred to a ...
.
All the 48 Sarawak state assembly seats were contested. In this election, Sarawak
Barisan Nasional
Barisan Nasional (BN; ) is a political coalition of Malaysia that was founded in 1974 as a coalition of centre-right and right-wing political parties to succeed the Alliance Party. It is the third largest political coalition with 30 seats in ...
(BN) fielded candidates for all 48 seats, PBDS for 21 seats, PERMAS for 21 seats,
Democratic Action Party
The Democratic Action Party (DAP; ) is a social democracy, social democratic and Secularism, secular political party in Malaysia, sitting on the Centre-left politics, centre-left of the political spectrum. As one of four component parties of ...
(DAP) for 11 seats, and Sarawak Democratik Bersatu (BERSATU) for one seat. There were 16 independents contesting for the seats. There were a total of 118 candidates vying for the seats, which was the lowest since 1979 election. A total of 625,270 voters were eligible to cast their votes.
Background
This snap election was called by Taib due to heightening of
Ming court affair political crisis when
Abdul Rahman Ya'kub
Abdul Rahman bin Ya'kub (; 3 January 1928 – 9 January 2015) was a Malaysian politician of Melanau descent from Mukah. He was the third Chief Minister of Sarawak and the fourth Yang di-Pertua Negeri Sarawak (Governor of Sarawak). He is als ...
together with 27 other state assemblymen signed a letter to call for Taib's resignation. Abdul Rahman formed a new political party named
Persatuan Rakyat Malaysia Sarawak (PERMAS) just before the election. Together with
Parti Bansa Dayak Sarawak
The Sarawak Native People's Party or (PBDS, lit. "Sarawak Dayak People's Party") was a political party in the state of Sarawak in Malaysia. It was established in 1983, by Datuk Amar Leo Moggie Irok, after seceding from Sarawak National Party ( ...
(PBDS), Abdul Rahman would form an opposition alliance to challenge Taib at the polls.
Results
Results by constituency
Sarawak BN, composed of
Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu
Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu ( abbrev: PBB; ) is a political party based in Sarawak, East Malaysia. It is currently the largest multiracial and bumiputera's political party in Sarawak. Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu was formed from the co ...
(PBB),
Sarawak United Peoples' Party
The Sarawak United Peoples' Party ( abbrev: SUPP; ) is a multiracial local political party of Malaysia based in Sarawak. The SUPP president is Dr. Sim Kui Hian. He succeeded the post from his predecessor, Peter Chin Fah Kui in 2014. Establish ...
(SUPP), and
Sarawak National Party
The Sarawak National Party known by its acronym as "SNAP", is now a defunct List of political parties in Malaysia, political party in Malaysia. It was a member party of the Alliance Party (Malaysia), Alliance Party from 1963 to 1966 and a member ...
(SNAP), won 28 out of 48 seats on the election day, thus able to form a government with a simple majority.
The full list of representatives is shown below:
See also
*
Elections in Sarawak
Elections in Sarawak have been held in the Malaysian state of Sarawak since 1959 and have chosen Sarawak's elected representatives in the Dewan Rakyat and Dewan Undangan Negeri (the Malaysian federal and state assemblies).
History
After Sarawak be ...
*
1987 Ming Court Affair
The Ming Court Affair was a political coup in Sarawak, Malaysia that began in 1983, developed into a full-blown political crisis during the 1987 state election, and ended after the Sarawak Malaysian People's Association (PERMAS) was dissolved ...
*
List of Malaysian State Assembly Representatives (1986–1990)
A list is a set of discrete items of information collected and set forth in some format for utility, entertainment, or other purposes. A list may be memorialized in any number of ways, including existing only in the mind of the list-maker, but ...
References
{{Malaysian elections
1987
Events January
* January 1 – Bolivia reintroduces the Boliviano currency.
* January 2 – Chadian–Libyan conflict – Battle of Fada: The Military of Chad, Chadian army destroys a Libyan armoured brigade.
* January 3 – Afghan leader ...
1987 elections in Malaysia